{"id":10428,"date":"2022-02-07T00:56:12","date_gmt":"2022-02-07T00:56:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mailinvest.blog\/index.php\/2022\/02\/07\/cyberattack-compromises-emails-at-news-corp-outlets\/"},"modified":"2022-02-07T00:56:12","modified_gmt":"2022-02-07T00:56:12","slug":"cyberattack-compromises-emails-at-news-corp-outlets","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mailinvest.blog\/index.php\/2022\/02\/07\/cyberattack-compromises-emails-at-news-corp-outlets\/","title":{"rendered":"Cyberattack compromises emails at News Corp. outlets"},"content":{"rendered":"

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A cyberattack has struck media company News Corp., compromising the emails of journalists.<\/p>\n

The attack was detected on Jan. 20 and affected News Corp. publications and business units, including The Wall Street Journal and its parent company Dow Jones, the New York Post, News U.K. and News Corp. headquarters.<\/p>\n

The form of the attack was not disclosed. News Corp. only said that it believes a foreign government was involved in the hack and that some data was taken.\u00a0\u201cOur highest concern is the protection of our employees, including our journalists and their sources,\u201d the company said in an email to staff, before adding that the \u201cthreat activity is contained.\u201d<\/p>\n

In a Jan. 28\u00a0Form 10-Q filing<\/a> with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, the company said it had hired an outside cybersecurity firm and it was undertaking an investigation into the circumstances of the activity to determine its nature, scope, duration and impacts. The SEC statement added that its systems housing customer and financial data were not affected.<\/p>\n

Mandiant Inc. is the outside cybersecurity firm hired by News Corp. and it\u2019s already pointing the finger at China.\u00a0David Wong, vice-president of consulting at Mandiant, said<\/a> the hackers were believed to have \u201ca China nexus\u201d and \u201cwe believe they are likely involved in espionage activities to collect intelligence to benefit China\u2019s interests.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is common for politically motivated cybercriminals to mine reporters\u2019 materials for intelligence as they often speak to confidential sources and gather important information on world events,\u201d\u00a0Paul Farrington, chief product officer at file protection company Glasswall Solutions Ltd.<\/a>, told SiliconANGLE this weekend.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs the \u2018weaponization\u2019 of information technology escalates at an alarming rate, organizations must significantly improve their ability to proactively identify and defend against attacks, irrespective of their source and motivation,\u201d Farrington added. \u201cFailure to do so will leave more organizations at even greater risk of disruption and damage, tactically outmatched by adversaries who are relying on the weaknesses inherent in many of today\u2019s IT networks for their success.\u201d<\/p>\n

Tim Erlin, vice president of strategy at cybersecurity and compliance solutions firm Tripwire Inc.<\/a>, commented that \u201cit\u2019s time to remind ourselves that there is always more information to be discovered after the initial disclosure of a cyber attack like this one. We should expect that the information shared today isn\u2019t the full story.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cCyberattack attribution is extremely difficult, and while the casual reader may draw the conclusion here that China is responsible (which may be true), it\u2019s worth noting the language that Mandiant uses,\u201d Erlin explained. \u201cThe statement does not go as far as pointing to the Chinese government directly. The term \u2018China nexus\u2019 and the phrase \u2018benefit China\u2019s interests\u2019 are both ways of softening the conclusion. In these types of reports, language matters.\u201d<\/p>\n

Image: News Corp.<\/h5>\n
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